Log: Not Really Home Anymore
Visiting Coruscant has been an eventful trip. Between getting kicked out of his dying father's hospital room, getting arrested because one of his friends couldn't hold his liquor, and having to make an emergency trip back to Ord Mantell to bring a half-dead Sharleena to Coruscant General, the trip has ticked almost all of the boxes that Kaden would never really want to tick. Throw in a couple of ex-girlfriends for good measure, and a trip back to the Lorn Estate, and Kaden could just get it all over with, right? So why don't we do that. There's been something for a long time that has been bothering the Doctor (even if he's not allowed to call himself that on Coruscant). When he was evicted in the first place, he didn't really have time, or really the nerve, to go back home and get all of the things that were rightly his. With his father in the hospital now, unlikely to survive, the timing seems right. But he's not really willing to face the place alone, even without his father there. With a small cadre of crew, he's rented a speeder capable of accomodating the group, and they head out into the city to the large estate Kaden once called his home. The Lorn Estate is a large mansion in the upper levels of the city, nestled amongst other large mansions, in what must invariably be the Large Mansion District, owing to the number of large mansions. The speeder pulls up to the gate, and Kaden climbs out. "In another life, I would have inherited this place in.. I would say about two days time, married a tiny blonde girl name Raina, and had a couple of babies, who no doubt would have grown up to hate me, too. Kaden Lorn, welcome home." He approaches the gate, and inputs a code, which then buzzes angrily at him. It figures, they would have changed the code. Kaden grumbles, and a moment later the speaker buzzes, and a voice on the other end states, "If you wish to make an appointment, you must do so through the proper channels. Please leave the property immediately." Friendly. Kaden stares blankly at it for a moment. Lavie, standing behind Kaden and tastefully attired for a visit to such a prestigious estate, stares at the speaker, too. "Maybe we should have called first," she suggests softly. Fianna has -apparently- recharged at some point, and has a piece of fruit, because this is what he wanted, fruit, and his utility knife cutting it slowly and putting a piece of fruit to his lips, slowly chewing away, and mostly keeping an eye on Sharleena. "So that is what you all desire? Babies and Riches?" He suddenly pokes fun at Kaden, then glances at Lavie. "Maybe he can just use some super secret code to open the gates?" Mansion district, important people, high class, the perfect time to wear... her normal casual clothing. Zufeenia is here, the tiny pink Twi'lek wears her hiking boots, her cargo pants and camo croptop, and has included a pair of spiked gloves, not because they're goth, but to cover her bruised knuckles. She gazes at the little box, narrowing her eyes, pondering quietly whether she should punch it, stab it, shoot it, or just climb over the gate. It's probably best she does none of the above... "I'm sure that if I'd called ahead, there'd be security droids waiting here for me," Kaden says with a wry smirk. His relationship with family can't be -that- bad, can it? "If I wanted babies and riches.." Well, he would have made better choices, because in truth, Fianna's assessment isn't all wrong. But he trails off, and doesn't answer the question. Instead, he taps on the communicator console, and the female voice on the other end responds. "I told you, we don't-" But Kaden cuts her off, "Valesta, it's Kaden," he says, and the woman goes silent suddenly. There's a pause, and some murmuring in the background follows, before the communication is abruptly ended, and the gate is remotely opened, allowing them to enter the estate grounds. "That's what I thought," Kaden mutters before turning to the group. "Follow me. Don't.." he pauses, reconsidering what he was about to say. "Don't take anything anyone might say to you to heart. My family, and the servants who work for them.. they're not exactly kind people." He looks at Zufeenia when he says this specifically, though he doesn't go into detail why. "You're already here with me, don't expect to make any friends by it." Kaden takes in a breath, perhaps to steel his nerves, and steps through the gate toward the main entrance to the mansion. Zufeenia was already reaching for her knife when Kaden looks at her, he'd see her disappointment quite obviously as she loses the chance to stab the communicator repeatedly and scream obsenities at it until the gate opened. Next time. "Don't care what they say to me, if they upset you, or Lavie, I'll throw bantha dung all over their house..." Sounds innocent and prank enough, "... right after I punch them." "Not really," Lavie replies to Fianna. "Mostly I desire acceptance, or at the very least tolerance. Though I have a bad feeling I won't find either here, except from present company." Touching Zufi's shoulder, she quietly shakes her head at her friend. "We'll be fine, Zufi. They're either decent people or they're not. Either way, mean words won't hurt us." "No, but punching will hurt them." Zufeenia answers with a sage nod. Fianna sighs a bit and shakes his head slowly. "Are we sure any of us coming here was a grand idea? I'd hate to end up thinking we flee Coruscant because of angry families with ample money to spend on having us arrested." He says, in a joking tone..Maybe? Kaden leads the group up through the courtyard, a wide area lined with trees and gardens. A couple of servants who happen to be working on one outdoor task or another regard the group and murmur something quietly to themselves, but otherwise ignore them. Kaden doesn't recognize them, or if he does, doesn't say so. They approach the main doorway, and as they do, it opens, revealing an older, rather thin and well-dressed woman. She stands with her arms crossed over her chest, a stern look on her face. "Kaden Aloysius Lorn," she says slowly, her tone stern as she casts her eyes over the man, and then to those who have accompanied him. "And you brought friends. How wonderful." She doesn't sound pleased. "Valesta," Kaden says, equally unenthusiastic. "You have grown up, even in the few short years since you left. I see your taste in.. companionship has.. downgraded," Valesta says, eyes switching between Zufeenia, Lavie, and Fianna. "You had such promise once, boy. To see it thrown away.. saddens me. You know that I've served your family since I was a child? My mother served your grandfather, and his father.. we have lived in this house for generations, alongside yours, and now.. when your father passes.." She trails off a little bit, and frowns. She stands to the side, clearing the way in. "You have fifteen minutes. I know what you're here for it. It's where you left it. Get it and go. After that, I will summon security if you're still on the premises." "Thank you," Kaden says tentatively, stepping in past her, and glancing over his shoulder to indicate that the others should follow. Once inside, he pauses, taking in a breath, and looking around the large entryway. It's been a long time since he was here, welcome or not. Lavie bites her lip in the face of the tirade from the woman Kaden referred to as Valesta, stung by the woman's coldness and generally judgemental attitude. Nevertheless, she summons the good graces to greet her with a quiet curtsey. "I am very sorry for your loss, Ma'am," she says quietly, and quite sincerely. "You all have my deepest sympathies." Zufeenia follows along beside Lavie, her presence probably the only thing that stops the Twi'lek from randomly kicking flowers, everything looks too neat. She glares at the servants, staring them into silence, then finds herself looking upon the woman, returning her displeased look with something more narrow eyed. "She forgot to remove vibrosword from butt before coming to greet you, Kaden. Or maybe she needs it surgically removed. You should offer, family discount." This is murmered loud enough for the group to hear, but perhaps not the woman herself. Valesta eyes each of the group as they pass by her, and when Lavie offers her condolences, she simply rolls her eyes and smirks, offering a very insincere 'thank you' to the woman. Once they're all inside, she closes the door turns quite suddenly, moving to leave them in the entryway. Before she does, she says simply and sternly, "Fifteen minutes." "Believe it or not, she was like a mother to me, when I was young," Kaden says, frowning. "Probably why she let us in at all, actually." He looks in the direction that Valesta had left in, and shakes his head. "It's funny how one little thing can so completely change someone's opinion of a person," he muses. His head turns back to look at the group, and he offers a weak smile. "That went better than I thought it would, really. Follow me.. the Library is through here," he says, motioning with a hand toward the main hall, before his footsteps start in that direction. Fianna scowls a bit..low quality of friends? He's worth countless millions, but this hardly matters, because he's ...not sure why he is here. Interesting. "A library? An odd reason to go through all this..just for a library visit." He says outloud, yawning quietly to him self, apparently he's convinced this shall be short -and- boring. Lavie looks faintly hurt at Valesta's reply, but manages a soft but sincere, "You're welcome." She watches the woman walk away with regret in her eyes. "It /is/ rather hard to believe right now," she muses. "I'll have to ask you what that one little thing was sometime." Glancing to Fianna, she adds, "Whatever's in that library must be very dear." Fighting down a wince at Zufi's comments, she hastily hugs the Twi'lek tightly and kisses her cheek. "Hold me, sweetie," she whispers, saying nothing about Valesta's behavior. Temptation to thump the woman grows as she walks away, Zufeenia clenches her fists... She takes a single step, only to have Lavie step in to hug her. She blinks, gulps, glances once at the woman, then turns back to Lavie, returning the hug tightly. "Kaden deserves better, so do you. we should leave here soon, fifteen minutes too long." She then moves to follow Kaden, stepping away a little so she can walk with the redhead. "If Kaden want to use library, we'll go to library." She nods to Fianna. The main hallway is a long corridor, and very stereotypical of a rich family's house; large portraits line the walls on either side, chronicling generations of the Lorn family. Beside the portrait of Kaden as a young man, is one of Kaden's father in his prime. A tall, regal and gaunt man, with thick black hair and a very well-groomed beard, the senior Lorn has a very distinct air of superiority about him, even in the lifeless painting. The painting of Kaden shows him in his youth, perhaps in his mid-teens. He was not an entirely unattractive youth, but not without his own particular brand of awkwardness, a facet the artist didn't, either by choice of inability, manage to filter out of the portrait. The smile is just so slightly off-putting. Who smiles in a portrait painting? Kaden stops at the picture and looks at it for a moment, grimacing. "This was supposed to be repainted when I turned twenty-one. I kept putting it off.. and then I left. I wish I had just sat for the damn thing, if for no other reason than to see this painting put into storage, where no-one would ever see it. I was an odd-looking kid, wasn't I?" He glances toward Fianna, "Not the Library, the Vault. The Library is just where the entrance to the Vault is," he says by way of explanation. That done, he starts down the hall again, and turns into the Library through a pair of wide doors. The library is a rather large, open room with high vaulted ceilings, around the perimeter of which are shelves containing hundreds of old-looking books. Because all rich people have libraries filled with old books, if for no other reason than for show. In the center of the room, several high-backed chairs and a couple of tables have been placed, presumably for reading. "It will take a minute or two to open the vault," Kaden says when the group has entered, and the voice startles the only person already in the Library before they all entered. A woman, perhaps a couple of years younger than Kaden. Blonde, quite short. Attractive by most standards. She looks up with a jolt, and when she realizes who it is, she laughs out loud, a very drawn out, high pitched laugh that sets Kaden's nerves on edge. "I cannot BELIEVE you are HERE," she says gleefully, all smiles, none of them friendly. "And you brought.." she looks over to the three others, "Okay, fair enough, after you left I did my share of 'slumming', I suppose. I mean, I slept with a Falleen. At least they're not a slave race, though.." She looks at Zufeenia when she says it, a smirk on her face that doesn't hide her disdain. Kaden glares at the woman angrily, "What are you doing here, Raina? If you remember, instead of getting married to you, I was kicked out and forced to leave Coruscant." Fianna slowly blinks his eyes, why is it people continue to insist he's some form of inferior being? "I would like to inform you..I am worth more then your entire estate. Keep this in mind." He says, matter of factly, the same way Kaden explained the reason to visit a Library. "Entire worlds can be bought and sold for what I am worth." Maybe a bit of bragging. "It's not /too/ bad... though I think the portraitist wasn't very good," Lavie muses, examing the portrait critically. She offers no further input, though she does blink in surprise and perk up when that vault is mentioned. She is impressed by the library, which is made clear by her tourist-like examination of the room without stopping until Kaden himself does, wincing faintly at the woman's clearly forced laugh. And though the woman's unmistakeable disdain cuts her deeply, she tries not to show it. Not until she hastily hugs Zufeenia again, anticipating an explosion and trying hard to redirect the fiery Twi'lek's attention with a whisper of, "Hold me... please..." Zufeenia follows along, not as bored as she thought she'd be, the presence of books fills her with something, something odd. Nostalgia? Feeling? She glances to the woman and her fake smiles and condecending tone, realizing what it is. It's rage. Yes, rage. She turns to face her, clenches her fists, then has Lavie hugging her, and one arm is dedicated to hugging her back, though this one drops down to squeeze her backside rather obviously, pulling her skirt up a bit. "Left you for us, is that why you smile and laugh? You just a silly girl, go back to read, be happy in the world that doesn't exist. We follow Kaden because he is strong, Falleen followed you because he wanted your backside." Raina laughs loudly, her voice irritating like nails on a chalkboard. She looks at Zufeenia, and smiles cruelly. "Let me for you? I hardly think so, Twi'lek," she says. "Look at me. Now look at you. Please. He left because he HAD to. If he hadn't gotten into.." she pauses, glancing at Kaden to see his reaction. "Trouble, he would have stayed, married me, and we'd be living here in this house together, probably with a couple of children already. He was certainly fond of.. practicing," she says with a smirk. "He's not strong. He's a coward. Until a few years ago, he was at least a rich coward." Her attention turns to Fianna. "You I like. Cute. Nice eyes. Tell me about yourself," she says, moving toward him, and if he'll let her, place a hand on his chest. "Shut your mouth, Raina. You don't know me any more, and I don't have anything left to say to you. You have no right to talk to my friends this way, and no right to be here. Get out of my house," he says to the woman, his voice bitter. "Your house?" Raina laughs, without taking her eyes off Fianna. "You have no more right to this house than I do.. perhaps even less. At least I was there for your family after you left. Your father took me in.. I was like a daughter to him.. perhaps more," she says with a sly smirk. "I am welcome here, unlike you. When your father passes, I stand to inherit more of this estate than you could ever hope to.." She keeps her focus on Fianna. "What is your name?" Fianna is unyielding when he wishes to be, which is -right- about now. "I've my shares of whores and wastrels in this galaxy..and you reek of desperation and disaster. I've seen your kind, a whore and a wastrel..living off the dead, propped up in the decaying pillows. The shroud of the burial pulled over your eyes, wallowing in your self pity. Living to try and flaunt your self over others." He says, lightly taking her hand to remove it. "I have more heart then you, and no blood pounds through my veins. Shall we finish this visit Kaden?" He says, some how, his tone -still- friendly, despite him being any thing but. "I am not putting this up as my most -interesting- experience since my initial construction." Lavie hugs Zufi just a bit tighter, that feeling of impending disaster growing stronger as the argument between Raina and Kaden escalates, and the woman begins to blatantly hit on Fianna. "Don't give in to your anger, Zufi," she whispers, a faint hint of pleading in her tone. "She's not worth it. Not a quarter as desireable as she thinks she is. Let her show how much of a fool she is. Just hold me. Please. Stay with me..." Though not the retaliation Zufie wants, the strange smiling man seems to say what needs to be said, though it didn't involve being pushed out the window into a pile of bantha dung, as she'd hoped. "Me? Yes. I not pretty. But /her/..." Zufie motions to the redhead she holds, suddenly offering a bright smile of her own, "You nothing, she everything. Kaden good, you poodoo." She starts leading Lavie towards the entrance to the vault, moving along a row of books, big, heavy, valuable books... Lavie might know what /could/ be coming. "That just makes me even more interested, my dear boy," Raina says, but backs off from Fianna. "I've never had a Replica droid.." she says, as if it were a commonplace thing that one simply 'does'. "But, I suppose it would be.. disrespectful. Graysen hasn't even drawn his last breath yet, I suppose I shouldn't even be considering it.." She smiles sweetly again, and shrugs, looking back to Kaden. "You're here for the Vault, yes? Allow me," she says, moving swiftly through the room, between Kaden and the others as she needs; as she passes Kaden, she runs her hand across his chest, meaning to tease him, on her way toward one of the shelves. As you might have guessed, the vault is hidden behind the shelf. She moves one of the books and the shelf slides out, revealing a relatively small safe door. Once it's clear, she steps forward to it, and enters the combination, opening the safe to reveal nothing but a small strongbox, which she removes, and hands to Kaden without hesitation. "There. We all know this is the only thing you ever wanted from us, Kay. Your father ordered that I not let you have it.. but, for old time's sake. And because when he's gone, no-one else cares about it. Take it, and get out of here," she says. Kaden takes the strongbox, and then turns to leave. "Goodbye Raina. Enjoy my family's life. Don't fire all the servants." Without any further explanation, he heads toward the door. "Let's go," he says tersely, not really paying attention any more to what the others are doing. Mood: Destroyed. END Category:Log